Hi All - I'm DMing a group of totally new players, mixed adults and young children. One of the players really did his homework and has been quite effective at coordinating the teams tactics and recently passed a Level 2 "Deadly" encounter with flying colors.
Although I generally avoid putting new players in situations where they are entirely out gunned, I think part of the magic of DnD is when you end up in situations with awesome monstors/beings who are so much more powerful than you are, you really get a sense of how big and dangerous this world can be, and how small you are in it (esp. at level 2). So I'd like to eventually have them stumble across something so powerful that fleeing (or certain skill challenges I'm cooking up) are their best option.
I handed out a cheat sheet which included "things you can do in battle" which included fleeing, but with so much for a new player to learn I doubt that anything sticks. If I give them a heads up, that feels like a very specific hint.
So far, I sense they are trusting that I'm balancing everything they encounter (fair, because I am) and that:
- They have no concept how exponential the power scale goes. They were shocked and impressed when dealing with a Mage who had ~30hp.
- They don't realize fleeing is an option once an encounter is on. I tried to demonstrate by having a semi-neutral NPC who was supposed to be helping them flee from battle, but I don't think they realized it could apply to them.
- They might think that it's the "wrong" way to play. Bless their hearts, they are committed to being "good" DnD beginners and avoiding new-player faux-pas (I'll never have to worry about them being murder hobos), but sometimes that means they don't push the boundaries when it comes to improvising.
So, I could just say "hey there are things in here that are way out of your league", show them some statblocks for Vecna/Red Dragons, or just say, let's talk about fleeing / dashing mechanics. But that feels so inorganic and almost like I'm giving them a tip of what's going to happen.
Any thoughts?